Working-Mom Series Week 2: Alina

{You can read the Intro to the Working-Mom Series here}


This week's Working-Mom is my beautiful sister-in-law, Alina! 
Alina recently moved from Texas to Beaverton, Oregon with her husband and 1 1/2 year old son, Roy. 
She is a physical therapist and works 2 days a week at a nearby hospital since having her son.



Alina:

Tell us about how you approached the decision to work after having a baby?

My parents taught me that it is important for women in this day and age to have a “marketable skill” - something that could help them provide for themselves.  Even though my ultimate dream job was to be a wife and a mother, I knew it would be smart to have some other options in case life didn’t go as planned (as it often does not).   My goal when seeking an education was to prepare myself in a field where I could work part-time while being a full-time mother.  That way should anything happen where I would need to provide for myself I would be prepared and then after my kids are grown I would still be marketable in the workplace.

Why was it important for you to work after having a baby?

I’m so blessed that the decision to work after having a baby was not purely a financial one - we did not NEED my income to survive.  The extra money does help, but more importantly was the continued investment on my education, the security of keeping myself (or rather, my skills) marketable, and the enjoyment of being in the workplace.  The enjoyment factor has really played a bigger role than I expected actually.

What has been the easiest part of keeping up with the demands of work and family?

I tell people all the time that “working makes me enjoy being home more and being at home makes me enjoy working more”.  I’ve found that the workplace is pretty accommodating to working women.   Management and co-workers have been flexible and  understanding.  Plus, there is a  lots of empathy and support from other working women.  I’m not sure how things were even 20 years ago, but lots of things like special nursing rooms and even onsite childcare are becoming more prevalent to make things easier for working moms.

What has been the hardest part of keeping up with the demands of work and family?

So no matter how reliable an employee I myself might be, now that I’m a mother that reliability is all dependent on the health and well-being of my child.  And children are just very unpredictable and things come up (illness, complications with child care arrangements) so it’s hard when my ability to work is limited by that.  Also, it’s very stressful finding and scheduling child care.  And lastly, getting multiple people prepared for the day and out the door on time is much harder than doing it for yourself.

What are your current childcare arrangements and how do you feel about them?

Originally, when we he was a baby, we had a “nanny” come to the house.  Now that our little boy is older, I wanted him to have some more social interaction.  Now, he goes to a woman’s house (who has a background in professional childcare) who has a little boy around the same age as our son.   Our little guy LOVES it - he loves getting out of our house,  having a playmate, and playing with different toys!  Plus, the woman is very flexible with her schedule so it has worked out great!

If you had to pick one trick or tip that helps you make it all work, what would it be?

Well, first of all I would say pick a career that can really be accommodating to a family in the way you want.  I know that’s not always a reality, so in that case I would say do whatever you can to keep stress low at home and at work - make meals ahead of time, eat leftovers or eat out, clean less, get enough sleep, etc.

Do you think you will continue with the part time work arrangements you have right now, for the long term?

Right now my situation is ideal.  We are thrilled to be expecting another child, but more children does complicate child care arrangements (more expensive, different schedules and needs, etc) so I’m not sure how we’re going to work that out.  Plus, in the future you have to deal with school schedules and extra activities.  My plan right now is to just take it as it comes and to continue to explore the options to find the best fit for my family.  Fortunately, there are a lot of flexible part-time opportunities for physical therapists so I plan on continuing to work part-time in some capacity long term.  And if not, I will at least maintain my license and plan on resuming work when I can.

Thank you for sharing your experience and insight with us, Alina!